The Best Gadgets to Survive the Cold Weather

Last winter wasn't actually been that cold, but the end of 2016 has seen the weather get quite a bit colder. Not snow cold (yet), but cold enough to warrant a good warm coat and maybe a pair of gloves. It may not be unbearable weather, but we can always rely on some extra tech to make our lives more comfortable.

So without further ado, here are some of the gadgets you should invest in to make surviving the chilly weather a little easier.

EC Technology External Battery Pack, £20

Apparently the cold weather has a negative impact on how long your phone's battery life will last. Do you want your phone running out of juice sooner than you planned? Of course not. So make sure you have a back up. Obviously the cold weather will affect this as well, but with a capacity of 22,400 mAh this should be plenty to charge all your gadgets and get yourself through the day. If you're willing to take a dip in capacity, you can also get this 4,400 mAh pack that functions as a dedicated handwarmer.

It'll also be very handy when flash floods cause a power cut on Boxing Day, and the electric company doesn't bother to fix it for three or four days. [Buy it here]

Warmawear Battery Heated Touchscreen Gloves, £7

Gloves don't work too well with phones, even if you have a dedicated 'glove mode'. Touchscreen gloves mean you don't have to expose your hands to the frigid air to use your phone, but if your extremities still tend to get cold then you'll want some extra warmth from these heated gloves. It even has a pocket for keeping cards and other useful things inside. You'll need D batteries for them to work, but that's a small price to pay. [Buy it here]

3rd Gen Nest Learning Thermostat, £199

It doesn't matter whether you're travelling the outside world or sitting around the house, you need to be able to control the temperature to stay comfortable. Enter the Nest smart thermometer, which I'm sure you've all heard of by now. This Nest has a whole host of automatic features that learns from you, and keeps your home at a comfortable temperature while you're there. And when you're not, it'll switch off. This one can also control your boiler, hot water, and can, of course, be controlled from your phone. [Buy it here]

Netatmo Weather Station, £130

Forget relying on commercial weather services to get your information, you can set up your own system at home. Netatmo comes in two modules, indoor and outdoor, and uses a variety of sensors to determine various things like temperature, pollution levels, barometric pressure, humidity, noise, and more. That info gets beamed across to your smartphone in a way you can understand, so you know exactly what's going on in and outside your home in order to plan and dress accordingly. [Buy it here]

Heated Travel Mug, £20

You're off in the big bad world, but you want to be able to keep your hot drinks from cooling down to the disgusting-tasting lukewarm temperature. So give this mug a try. Not only is it insulated, if you plug it into your car's cigarette lighter (or use a mains adapter) you're also able to heat things up. The delightfully retro temperature gauge is also there to let you know what things are like on the inside, so you don't burn your mouth or take a swig of nasty cold coffee. [Buy it here]

USB Mug Heater, £4

We can't all have a heated travel mug for our brews, but we do need to stop them from cooling down too quickly none the less. If you want to keep your tea/coffee/hot chocolate nice and toasty, just plug one of these into your computer. Don't worry about using up your precious USB ports, either, because this has four extra ports for you to plug into. [Buy it here]

Warm Up Soles, £13

The extremities are always the first places to start seriously feeling the cold, but people always forget about the feet. Just press the button on these soles and they'll provide you with 30 minutes of heat to stop your toes from going numb. They can be used in shoes, slippers, or I imagine they'll also work if you tape them to your feet. They also mould to the shape of your feet, and can be used 100 times before they run out of juice. [Buy it here]

Heated Mouse Mat, £16

Hand getting cold during your sessions of work and games? Give this a try. It's a stylish-looking aluminium mouse mat that heats up to a piping hot 45 degrees Celsisus. That means it stops you from touching a potentially cold mouse mat, as well as giving off some heat to keep your hands comfortable and capable of working at maximum efficiency. [Buy it here]

Bluetooth Beanie Hat With Headphones, £24

Grandma always used to tell you to wear a hat outdoors, and if you fancy keeping your head and ears out of the cold that's a good idea. Sadly hats that cover your ears don't play well with headphones, which is why this hat has Bluetooth headphones built in. It also has a microphone for hands-free calling, a built-in remote, microUSB charging, and a battery life of 6-8 hours. [Buy it here]

Heated Seat Cover, £10 (Plus £6 Adapter)

This one is pretty self explanatory, you plug it in and once you turn it on and sit down it heats up. It's designed to be used in the car, but if you buy a mains adapter there's no reason why this can't also be used on your sofa, or kitchen chair. [Buy it here]